Summer Days
by Expressive Dissonance
Summary: AU-Giftfic. Remember those days when we'd laugh and play, share our joys and sorrows, fight and then make up? From childhood to adulthood, the story of three friends who learn that home is definitely where the heart is. Zack/Leon/Cloud, eventual yaoi
1. Summer of Beginnings

QNC: Okaaay, so this one is a fluffy giftfic to Tobi Uchiha that was the other promised "half" of my inspiration. It got out of control, so now it is a Zack/Leon/Cloud fic up to its third chapter. (snorts) I am totally using this as excuse to practice my porn writing, but that'll be much later--cute only for now. Thanks to my beta for proofing! ;)

Disclaimer: Do not own FF7 or KH, but their characters sure are fun to play with.

* * *

It was an almost perfect summer day. It was early June, just a little above seventy-five degrees, and the sky was filled with thick fluffy clouds that drifted like cotton balls in the wind. Birds were chirping, dogs and cats were scurrying around, accompanied by the laughter of children, and butterflies and fat honeybees were flitting from petal to petal without a care in the world.

"Cloud, honey," a cajoling female voice was saying, "Why don't you go play with the other kids?"

A small blonde child with clear eyes blue enough to put the sky itself to shame slowly lifted his head to fix his nearly identical mother with a wide-eyed stare, even as one tiny, pale hand clenched hard and fisted in the fabric of a warm, patterned sundress. His head shook and he stubbornly refused to speak as he jammed the small thumb of his other hand into his mouth and buried his face in his mother's skirts.

Rayne Strife sighed as she pet her son's silky golden hair, her heart going out to the little boy**.** She'd known this would happen**,** and she could only blame herself for it. Ever since Lionel's death, Cloud had become reluctant to leave her side, mostly likely fearing that she too would disappear, and although she was supposed to be the grownup and reassure him that this would never happen, she had reciprocated the feeling, knowing that the two of them were all that each other had in the world now. Despite her sister's reassurances that she could handle her brand new baby boys, Rayne knew that Freya was struggling with marital problems and was on the fast lane to heartbreak of her own; no, she would have to help herself and her own baby before trying to be there for her sister. Maybe if she'd given her son more time to adjust to his father's death instead of moving to a whole other city in such a short amount of time…

Silently shaking her head and steeling herself, the single mother gave her son a gentle smile and lightly tugged his grasping hands from her skirt, subtly ignoring the small protesting noises he made around the thumb in his mouth.

"Go on, baby," she murmured as she stooped down to the wary five-year-old's level. "Don't you want to make nice new friends here in Radiant Garden?"

Rayne watched as her shy little baby looked guiltily away from her before looking out at the park full of rambunctious children dashing from place to place in a wild frenzy. His eyes caught sight of the sandbox, empty but for one other child, who was quietly dragging his hands through the sand in small shapes as he watched the other kids play a few feet away from a small set of monkey bars.

Well…if Mama really did want him to go play, he supposed it wouldn't be _so_ bad if there was only one other kid there, and he looked like he was quiet**.** Cloud liked the quiet as long as it wasn't at night. And who knew, maybe he wouldn't be mean and they would get along and play in the sandbox together.

With one last nervous glance at his mother, who beamed and gently nudged him forward with an encouraging nod, Cloud carefully picked his way across the playground, careful to avoid crashing into the other kids**,** who were unsteadily careening around in impromptu games of freeze tag and hide-n-go seek.

Unfortunately for Cloud, he was spotted before he got near his destination, and he was suddenly being stared at by intense, blue-gray eyes as the quiet boy caught the smaller boy's movement towards him. It made him kinda uncomfortable, like when the old people back in their old house came over and told him they were sorry, then said weird things like how he had his father's nose at least**.** Cloud didn't see how that was possible since his father had always had a nose of his own to nuzzle against his cheeks with, but then again, he'd never really paid much attention to those kinds of things since he was too busy begging for airplane rides on his father's legs.

Cloud blushed at the unwavering scrutiny as he gave the left side of the sandbox a wide berth and then made his way to the other side in order to sit on the opposite half, his eyes downcast as he settled in the sand**.** The closest he dared was to sit under the far side of the monkey bars, sneaking glances at the other boy.

The other boy looked at him for a minute longer as Cloud absentmindedly began piling mounds of sand around the base of the bars before looking away without saying a word. That worried Cloud. Did the other boy not like him or something? Had he already done something wrong? Eyes anxious, he took a good long look at the other boy, trying to decide if he'd done a bad thing by pretending not to notice his staring.

He was about Cloud's height and around the same age, with dark, sable hair that reminded Cloud of the chocolate bars his momma would sometimes buy for him at the candy store with a warning not to eat before dinner. And even though he couldn't see the eyes, Cloud could remember the eyes that had been staring at him a few moments ago perfectly. They were grayish-blue, like a stormy sky on Destiny Islands that rocked the flimsy rowboats and lifted the water from the ocean onto the streets over the course of a night.

Dejected, Cloud lowered his eyes to the piles of sand between his legs, his lower lip trembling he wondered what it was about him that made the boy not wanna play with him. His small hands alternately picked up the sand and spread his palms to let it sift through onto the ground, uncaring that he was getting it all over his clothes; he was _bored_.

"You're doin' it wrong," a quiet voice suddenly said, startling him out of his thoughts. Cloud jerked his head up to meet those gray eyes crouched in front of him in a face much too solemn for its age. When had the other boy approached him? Never mind that, what was he saying to him?

"Ah…" he looked from the sand he was lightly grasping to the other boy's face and bit his lip before asking, "What'm I 'posed to do with it?"

A tiny smile—one Cloud recognized as the one his mom gave when he asked a silly question—lit his serious face, and the boy reached down to flatten the mound into a smooth plane. He then began dragging his fingers—almost randomly, to Cloud's fascinated eyes—through it in small shapes and patterns.

After a moment, he gave a satisfied nod and leaned away from the sand to look expectantly at Cloud, who gave him a confused stare and looked down at the other boy's handiwork before asking, "What is it?"

"It's a dog," the other boy said simply.

Cloud squinted his eyes in confusion at the drawing, twisting and tilting his head at it before giving the other boy a shy smile. "Um…I think you forgot the tail, and he's missin' a leg."

The other boy was silent as he contemplated his drawing; after a moment, he smiled again, this time much wider as he shrugged and murmured, "Guess I did."

Lips twitching, Cloud leaned forward and poked a finger under the lopsided animal and carefully drew a long, awkward line for an extra leg and a faintly upward curling shape for a tail**.** Then he leaned back in triumph, his blue eyes bright as he sought the other boy's gaze.

"Pretty," the brown haired boy conceded**.** Cloud, however, was confused, since the brown-haired boy hadn't even bothered to look at the completed picture and was merely staring at him.

"What's your name?" Cloud asked after another one of those not-quite uncomfortable silences.

"…Squall." Came the hesitant answer. "What's yours?"

Cloud ducked his head and started digging his fingers in the sand in nervousness. "Promise not to laugh?" At Squall's nod, he said quietly, "Cloud…"

Squall merely nodded and went back to drawing figures in the sand, his demeanor patient as he showed Cloud the best way to make things like trees and cars like his Sis had shown him.

For Cloud, this was a nice change from some of the other boys who would make fun of his hair; this boy was nice and had a gentle voice--watching him draw more odd pictures, Cloud couldn't help but hope that Squall was less likely to tease him for being shy or scared of bugs and frogs like the other mean boys had.

A sudden war whoop from above their heads broke the peaceful camaraderie between the two; as Squall looked up in abrupt irritation, Cloud followed his fierce gaze with startled fear.

"Yo!" A cheerful voice called to them from its owner's upside down position hanging from the monkey bars. "Whatcha doin'?"

Cloud stared in rapt fascination at the bright deep-blue eyes that peeked out between a nest of messy black spikes as wild as his own. The other boy was a little bigger than both of them and looked older too**.** Cloud was suddenly struck with shyness as he looked away. "Drawin'…"

Squall on the other hand, was not quite as timid or accepting as Cloud. "Playin'. Alone."

"That's no fun!" the loud kid said as he tried to flip his position in order to make the climb back down the bars**.** For all his trouble, he managed to loosen his foot at the wrong moment and tumbled to the ground with a faint, "Ow…"

Cloud had to hold back giggles at the pouting expression on the other boy's face as he rubbed his head**.** He looked kinda like his mom had just told him that he couldn't leave the dinner table till he ate all his greens—he seemed nice enough. He blinked when the other boy kicked at the foot of the monkey bars with a childish grumble then snorted out loud.

That turned those dark blue eyes and a cheerful grin his way. "You laughin' at me, Spiky-head?"

"Hey!" Cloud protested, bristling indignantly as he patted his spikes. "Your hair's just as weird!"

"Yeah, but Mom says it's just wilder than a Grand Horn in ruttin' season, whatever _that_ means."

Squall grunted and folded his arms, his eyes on the other boy, who seemed to be in constant motion as he kicked up dirt and bounced in place while he talked to Squall's new friend, Cloud. He didn't know if this loud kid was a bully or just really friendly, but it was kinda rude to be left out of the conversation when Cloud was _his_ friend first. Who'd he think he was, coming over here trying to steal _his_ new friend with the pretty hair and fairy eyes?

"His name's Cloud," the gray-eyed boy said, defiantly glaring at the older boy.

Zack made a thoughtful noise as he stared at Cloud. "It fits…you're like the sky." He looked at Squall, his eyes still friendly but more curious as he looked at the brunette. "Name's Zack; wha's yours?"

The youngest boy's forehead wrinkled. Was he gonna try and laugh his name or something? "Squall."

A tan hand crept behind black spikes as Zack scratched confusedly at his head. "Umm…kay. You guys wanna play?"

Squall scowled unhappily at the older boy, but when he saw the cautious, half-hopeful look on Cloud's face, he shrugged and grumbled out, "Whatever."

And thus was the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

QNC: Let me just say, I have not been around a small child in about two years, but some of the ones I knew could talk like some adults I know! Hopefully that hasn't warped their age-speak too much for you guys. And there IS a reason, he introduces himself as Squall guys, so be patient! ;)

Anyway, until the next chapter!


	2. Summer of Changes

Quiet: And so begins another chapter. You guys better love this one! Almost 6000 words and 14 friggin pages! (grumbles) Okay, so about the ages...Zack's birthday is Mar 25 because of the ffvii_clack community I'm in declared it as such and it's the only date that would fit; Cloud's is Aug 19, and Squall/Leon's is Oct 30 because I needed him to have a later date. So if anyone's confused, in the last chapter, Zack was 6 and the other two were five.

* * *

_I'm sorry. _

Squall hurried out of the house, ignoring his father's calls for him to come back inside. The tree. He had to go there _now_. Sis, Sis, _why_?

_I'm sorry, Squall. I won't be gone long._

It wasn't fair. Why would she go and leave him behind? Had he been a bad boy? Had he not believed like she'd wanted him to? Squall sobbed brokenly as he dashed down the street, away from that house, that _place_—not warm, not anymore.

_A Home is where you feel safe. Haven't you always felt that way here with Dad and me?_

A shout of his name only prompted him to run harder, run faster because he had to get to the tree before sunset or else the fairies would leave forever and he'd _never_ get to say goodbye then. A he wouldn't go back to that place without her. No, Dad was _lying_; there was no way she would leave him all alone…

_Be strong. I'll come back, okay? Do your best…_

_**I will! Like a lion! Leon the Lion. No one'll get past me to hurt Dad!**_

He didn't want to be strong, he didn't want to be the one to help Dad by himself. Didn't want it, didn't need it, no no no no _no_.

"_Let me tell you the story of Griever, Squall."_

"Squall!"

"_A long, long time ago…"_

His feet carried him over familiar terrain until he found himself _there_. At the tree his Sis had shown him. The only place he felt _real_ magic was because Sis had always been there—

"_A lonely boy met an enchanted creature in a forest."_

"Hey! You okay, Squall?"

"_The creature, whose name was Griever, could sense his own loneliness echoed within the boy's heart."_

"Leave me alone!" Squall shouted, his face covered in tear-tracks and twisted in pain. He kept his back to his friends as he frantically searched the treetop, his eyes looking, searching, hoping for some sign of a small laugh and a gentle smile…she _couldn't_ be gone, they _couldn't _have taken her away before he was ready.

"_And so, to spare them both suffering and to ease their loneliness…"_

Zack and Cloud looked at each other before the brunette cautiously crept forward and asked again, "What's the matter?"

"_He became both guardian and protector so that they would always be one."_

His vision blurred, and for a second—

_Leon the Lion, huh? I wonder where my baby brother ran off to then?_

_**I'll always be—**_

"Squall," Cloud's voice said, as a small hand settled lightly on his back. He tensed, his eyes hot with the tears already flowing and those left unshed. He shrugged the comforting hand off his shoulder and hunched in on himself.

"J-ju-just leave me alone," Squall hiccupped, choking on the tears he was failing to stop. "I-I'm notta b-baby, I don't need you. I don't need anyone!" He yelled, digging his small fingers into the rough tree bark.

_Whenever you think I'm far away…_

"Why'd you run down the street like that, huh?" Zack asked, his eyes bright and earnest with genuine concern as he looked at his youngest friend. "You know we're not allowed to play in the street!"

_Go to our place with hope in your heart…_

When Squall jerked his head to the side and ignored him, Cloud stepped forward into his line of sight, his eyes wide and huge in his thin face.

_And if you pray real hard…_

"Squall, you're gunna make your Dad worry. I know Mom would…"

_I'll come back to you again._

And all he could think was, '_Cloud looks like one of Sis's fairies…is he a lie too? Is he not really there? Fake fake __**fake**__;__a lie, just like Sis. A lie a lie a __**lie**__, not real, not there, not __**true**_**.** _Liar, taking Sis away before I could see her_! _Just like Mom_…'

_Even if it's just to say goodbye_.

"I _hate_ you," Squall growled, lunging from the tree and pushing Cloud away from him with all his might. The small blonde cried out in surprise as he tumbled to the ground, his hands scraping on half-cracked acorn shells and pine barbs. There was a moment of stunned silence where Cloud's eyes went from concerned worry to shocked hurt; for a moment, when the blonde's face twisted into that hurt little grimace and tears threatened to spill over, Squall immediately regretted his harsh reaction.

"I'm sor—"

"Stupid!" was all the warning he got before a well-placed fist to his stomach sent all the air rushing from his lungs. Before he could properly catch his breath, he was on the ground staring up in surprise at an angry Zack. Even Cloud seemed to have forgotten his own fall in the face of the older boy's anger.

"Why'd you have to go and say that?! He was just tryna help!" Zack yelled, his blue eyes sharp and nearly lavender in the fading daylight.

Help…help, what would _they_ know about help? No one could help Sis where _she_ was going. "I don't _need_ your help," Squall snarled before launching himself at Zack.

He briefly registered Cloud getting off the ground and yelling at them to stop, but he was too caught up in trading blows with Zack; they were in his way and he had to _see_ her again. He'd come here hoping and praying, only to find out that even _that_ promise was another lie; just another one in a string of many.

Despite his easy attitude, Zack had done his fair share of schoolyard scrapping, usually in defense of his much quieter friends. But even then, there wasn't that overwhelming sense of disappointed anger in his assault; no, those other fights were more in the thrill of the moment. Usually, he reveled in the grunt of blows, the sting of sweat and the cheers of the other kids when he tussled with others in his league. This time, he took no enjoyment from rolling in the dirt with Squall, grimly trying to pin the other boy into submission.

There would be no King of the Playground at the end of this fight, after all.

Squall was no pushover himself, having been a target of a local kid named Seifer and his friends on more than one occasion, but eventually size (and exhaustion) won out**.** Zack sat on Squall's chest and clenched his bruised fists into the other boy's shirt, causing the younger boy to slump in defeat.

"What's _wrong_, Squall?" Zack demanded, still gripping the other boy's shirt in his fists.

"S-s-she's gone," Squall choked, tears running down his face unchecked. "Sis is gone! D-dad said…" he broke off into desperate, hiccupping sobs, his small frame shuddering with the force.

The result was instantaneous; Zack's grip changed from restraining to comforting as he hurriedly lifted himself off Squall and awkwardly hugged him from his miserable sprawl on the ground.

"Gone?" Zack asked in bemusement. Quiet little Squall had gotten all upset over his sister leaving him behind? "When's she comin' back?"

"She's not," Squall barked out, his gray eyes hardening as his pushed Zack's hands away from his shoulders. "She's _dead_."

* * *

Rayne sighed as she lightly dabbed the potion-soaked swab across the bridge of Squall's nose. Her son's youngest friend had been stubbornly silent since he'd been urged into the house, but she was proud of her little Raincloud for coming to get her at the first sign of trouble. Imagine her surprise, arriving at the scene of interest to find both boys roughed up. One was sobbing his little heart out while the other had looked up at her with pleading eyes she couldn't bear to resist. So she'd taken all three of the boys home with her to get their cuts and scrapes looked at before sending them home. The youngest boy had refused to tell her what was wrong, but Zack, with his usual earnest enthusiasm, had told her about what had happened to upset his friend so much.

No doubt with it being this late in the evening, Laguna and Mary would be worried over Zack and Squall.

The phone's sudden ringing caught her attention as she paused over Squall's skinned knees. At Cloud's questioning look, she nodded her head and watched in faint amusement as he dashed to the stool to clamor up and snatch the phone off the wall hook.

"Strife Resi-resi-um, house."

Rayne sighed at the sound of a frantic male voice on the phone, her eyes soft on Squall's face as he stared blankly at the fresh bandage on his leg; Laguna was obviously questioning poor Cloud to see if he knew where his son had gone. She had best head him off before he overworked himself with worry.

She held her hand out for the phone more than a little amused at his grateful look and instant release of the technology. "Rayne Strife speaking."

Laguna's voice was more than panicked as he said, "Squall's missing; have you seen him? I don't know where else he could've gone but he can't be alone right now—"

"Mr. Loire," Rayne said gently, her eyes catching and holding on the sight of Squall sitting sullenly in his chair as if reluctant to go into the living room with Zack and Cloud. "Don't worry, he's here."

"Is he alright?! Where's he been? How's he been acting—"

"He's _fine_, Laguna," she said in exasperation. "He just needed a little time is all. I think you should come walk him home right away. Just be careful to give him his space, alright?"

Near silent breathing crackled along the line before she heard him sigh. "I'll be right over," he muttered, just before the line clicked.

Mama Strife sighed as she looked back at the taciturn boy seated at her kitchen table. The boys had been friends for three years with no adverse problems, but then this incident just might jeopardize their whole friendship when Squall would need them the most.

Grief did odd things to people, especially those who barely understood it.

"Squall," she said gently, crouching down beside the little boy's chair. "Honey, why don't you go wait in the living room with the other boys? Your father is on his way, so you'd better put your shoes on and get ready."

Was it just her imagination or had a hint of reluctance suddenly filled that young face? She lightly brushed a lock of brown hair from his forehead as he stood, his steps stiff and tense as he headed towards the other room.

It wouldn't do for her to meddle with the boys right now. Both were a bit sore and needed to talk things out for a bit; and since she knew her boys, she knew they were smart enough to forgive each other and learn from today's incident. Squall could be a bit bullheaded at times, but once he saw that Cloud was more worried than angry, he'd be a bit more inclined to listen. Her baby was so sweet it was a wonder sugar didn't drip from those big blues of his when he cried.

Grinning to herself, Rayne stood and went back to gathering her supplies and put them away. They were all smart kids and one day, this friendship of theirs would work wonders if they knew what to look for.

Time would only tell.

* * *

It was quiet in the Strife's small living room. The only sounds were of the television blaring out sounds of the newest episode of Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon. Even though his mom had told him it was a bad habit, Cloud was nervously nibbling on his fingernails, his eyes straying from the television to look at his friends every so often. Zack was in his usual spot sprawled across the beanbag chair near the worn loveseat, his form all still and scrunched up. If that wasn't a clue as to how weird the older boy was acting, then the way his lips pressed together and his refusal to look at either of them was a dead giveaway.

Squall wasn't acting any better. The brunette was heavily slouched in the lazy boy seat across the room, his head tilted down as he too refused to look at either of them.

Cloud sighed in annoyance, his brows scrunching as he looked from one of his best friends to the other. This was _dumb_. Were they both going to sit here all day like lumps or what?

"You guys are stupid," Cloud said decisively, his eyes glowing with annoyance as he huffed and stood from his seat. "You're boring too. If you're not gonna entertain me then I'd rather hang with my _Mom _then you two bores."

He almost smiled when he got near identical looks of surprised dismay from both brunettes, but the nine year old merely lifted his nose and started to make his way away from the sofa.

"Don't leave, Cloud," Zack begged, his expression mildly panicked as he glanced nervously at Squall.

"Then _talk_," Cloud demanded, glaring at the both of them. Squall glanced up at Cloud for a moment before turning his head away to stare at the hands he had in his lap as if they were the best thing since Fatty McChocobo's Fried Fritters.

Annoyed, Cloud walked his way over to the youngest boy and stood over him for nearly a minute before guilty gray eyes rose to meet his own bright blue.

"Well, Squall?"

The younger boy just barely managed to stop himself from looking to Zack for assistance; all three of them knew that when Cloud got pushy he meant business, and he wouldn't let up until he got what he wanted, but Squall didn't _want_ Zack's help.

"Sorry," he said simply, once again refusing to look at the blond.

"To who?"

"You," he said, meeting Cloud's eyes as he stubbornly raised his own chin. "Didn't mean to push you. Sorry," he repeated.

Those stern eyes narrowed as Cloud stared down at him. "So you _meant_ to fight Zack? Mom says fighting isn't _nice_."

Squall's retort was lost in the sudden insistent knocking that shook the thin living room door.

"Cloud honey, can you get that? It must be Mr. Loire!"

His eyes plainly stating that their little talk was far from over, Cloud turned away from his younger friend in order to answer the door. No sooner had he swung it open than Laguna was clumsily barreling his way inside and scooping his son up in his arms in a tight, bone-crushing hug.

It looked like they'd have to play makeup later.

* * *

After Cloud's mother and Squall's father had finished exchanging pleasantries and thanks, Laguna was more than happy to grasp his son's limp hand in his own, his expression one of weary relief.

Squall's last glimpse of Zack that night was of sky blue eyes staring sadly at him as if wanting to say something important. But his dad was here now and he'd have to go back to being alone soon enough; he might as well prepare himself while he could.

"Son?"

The brunette blinked up at his father, whose smile had faded until faint lines of exhaustion crinkled his eyes, making him look much older than he was. "Dad," he acknowledged quietly.

"I…I just…" his father fell into silence as he swallowed hard, his eyes gaining a suspicious gleam before he gave Squall a tired smile. "I'm sorry, buddy," he murmured as they entered their front gate. After a moment, he put his hand on his son's shoulder, the gesture clearly conveying the importance of what he wanted to say. "I know how much she means to you and I know you didn't want her to go, but…"

Squall remained quiet as he followed his father to gather his bearings. He watched as the brown-haired man ran a hand through his choppy hair, his face indecisive as he looked from the sky to his son as if heavily considering something. Finally, he smiled down at his solemn faced boy, proud and yet saddened about how his son met his eyes without flinching or doubt. His hand dove into his pocket to retrieve the item he'd hastily stuffed there before his earlier departure; even if he didn't show it, he knew Squall was hurting right now. But there was one thing he could give his son; the final thing his sister had left to him…

"Dad," Squall asked before he could bring out his gift, "do you think…" he paused a bit unhappily before trying again. "Do you think she's…happy without us?" he asked, a hint of resentful jealousy in his voice. "She's probably happy to be away from us and with Mom."

Laguna's hand froze in his pocket as he observed the serious boy before him. He'd always been a bit distant from Squall, not for lack of trying to be otherwise, but because the two of them were just too different to really be close. Sweet, gentle Ellone had been more than enough to get Squall to come out of his shell and talk to him, but other times, he felt like he just wasn't getting _through_ to his son.

He sighed and squatted to hug the boy, his mind restless about thoughts of the days to come now that Ellone had left both of them alone.

He'd give Squall what was his when he understood a bit more. And who knows? Maybe one day, they'd understand each other more and get along to make Ellone proud of them both.

One day.

* * *

Zack was getting impatient.

It had been almost four days since Squall's sister had died in the car accident, but he and Cloud had yet to find the time to talk or play with the other boy. Heck, they'd barely caught a glimpse of him standing by Mr. Laguna at the coffin earlier! He was sure that Squall hated them since the two of them had fought, but Cloud kept telling him to stop being a mama chocobo and let Squall come to _them _first.

It wasn't _fair_. Why would Squall do that to Cloud and be instantly forgiven for it, yet when he did something wrong, everyone treated him like dirty-mouthed Reno? Sure the other kid was older than him by almost a year, but he was still a kid and he cursed like his mom did that one time he ran out of the house naked as a jaybird.

Zack squirmed in his stuffy tux, his body itchy and uncomfortable in the tight black suit. Beside him, Cloud suddenly nudged him in the side with his elbow, his face getting that hoity-toity I'm-maturer-than-you-so-there look that drove Zack nuts. He was supposed to be the older one and yet Cloud was always the one getting praised for being smart and responsible, while Zack was always getting scolded for not eating all his yucky greens or paying attention, or had nosy old Mrs. Jensen from next door eyeing him like he was gonna pee on her front lawn.

"Stop being a dork," Cloud said in annoyance as the priest began wrapping up his Yule-thingy. Zack narrowed his eyes on the blond and held up his thumb and pointer finger in the classic 'L' shape for loser. Cloud merely smiled sweetly and returned the gesture before Zack's mother cuffed him on the back of the head for being so disrespectful.

"Zackary," she warned as he rubbed his abused head.

"Sorry, Ma," he mumbled, shooting a glare at the smirking Cloud.

After a while, all the adults suddenly stood and began exiting the building; Zack followed his mother's prompting nudge, his eyes curious as he looked at Cloud. His blond friend only shrugged and kept following the crowd, just as lost as the older boy. There a moment of utter silence when they got to the little tent with the giant hole in it, and then coffin carrying guys put it on top of some strappy things. If they didn't want it to go into the hole, then why would they put something like that—with someone's _body_ in it—on top of it? Wouldn't it fall in?

His thoughts were broken by the sudden melodious voice of the priest as he began speaking loud and low, about returning to the circle of the gods and something about rebirth. The words struck a chord within Zack and made him unexplainably sad all of a sudden. When they began lowering the coffin into the hole, it only got worse. Disturbed by the unwelcome feeling, he glanced around to try and find himself a suitable distraction.

There were a lot of faces there, some of whom he knew, and others that he didn't. He stared in confusion as a group of older women stood around and chattered like his old parakeet Cuckoo while other people shot annoyed glances at them for being so loud. If this was supposed to be a serious thing like his Ma had told him, then why were there people being so giggly, like this was a blitzball game or something? Besides, if Squall and his dad's faces were anything to go by, this was no laughing matter.

Cloud gave him another hard nudge with his elbow, and he nearly yelled at him until he noticed that everyone was leaving.

Zack looked at the direction his mom was heading off into, then back to Cloud, who was giving him a wounded puppy look as he looked between his friend and his Mom.

Zack sighed. "Okay, Cloudy. I'll go ask Mom if I can go home with you guys."

The blonde's beaming grin convinced Zack that he'd made the right decision as he trotted off to find his mother's side as fast as he could.

"Hey, uh, Ma," Zack started, when she gave him a mildly suspicious look.

"Yes, Zackary?"

He winced a little at the full name, but a glance over his shoulder at Cloud revealed the blond tugging on his mother's hand and gesturing in Zack's direction. Judging by the way she was smiling, it was obvious Cloud was having success convincing her to let him come spend the night.

"Can I go sleep over with Cloud tonight?" He asked, eyes wide and pleading as he looked up at her.

It would take a far harder woman than Mary Fair to turn down such a cute, earnest little face, even if the face was that of her own mischievous son.

"Okay, Zackary," she conceded, quickly shushing his exuberant whoop. "But it'll have to be after you change out of your good suit, mister!"

The eager ten year old groaned as his mom began leading him over to the waiting Strifes.

Sometimes it just wasn't _fair_.

* * *

Cloud looked at Zack.

Zack looked back.

"Well?" The blonde asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well what, Chocobo head?! I haveta knock too?!"

"Well you were the one that fought 'im!"

"Wasn't my fault he was loonier than a chocobo on loco weed!"

"You coulda been nicer," Cloud grumbled, looking sorrowfully at the closed front door of the Leonhart residence. They'd somehow managed to convince Cloud's mom to let them head over to Squall's house the day after the funeral, but they weren't quite sure how their younger friend would take to seeing them after the incident earlier that week.

When Zack only huffed at Cloud's expectant face, the blond sighed and raised his small hand to knock timidly at the oak doors.

After a second, the sound of heavy shuffling could be heard from within and Laguna Loire pulled open the door, peering blearily at his small visitors with a faint expression of surprise.

"Mr. Loire," Cloud began in a rush, "we wanted to know if your son Squall was home and if he could come play with us today because Mama says it's fine if you're fine—"

"Squall," Laguna murmured, as if dazed. "Oh yeah… that's right, I do have a son...a fierce little storm… Squall…he's somewhere outside," he stated dreamily before softly closing the door in their faces.

"That was _weird_," Zack said unnecessarily in the silence that followed.

"C'mon, let's go find 'im," Cloud said determinedly as he started walking in a random direction.

"But we don't even know where he is," Zack groaned. "And his dad's not gunna be any help since he's all…loopy and funny-faced."

"Zack," Cloud began in that almost-like-an-adult voice, "it doesn't take much thought to figure out where he went, ya know? Remember where he went to last time? I think that old tree down the block might be where he's at right now."

"Well if you knew all that Mr. Smartypants, then why didn't we just check there first?!"

"Because Mama says some people stay in the house all day after someone dies," he explained, glancing back and forth across the street before crossing.

Zack huffed as they neared their destination, rolling his eyes at the younger boy. "Jeez, Cloudy boy, do you listen to everything your Ma tells ya?"

"Well she's a lot smarter than you," Cloud muttered.

Zack snorted as he gave the other boy a brief noogie. "You're such a _mama's_ boy Cloudy." He howled as Cloud swiftly retaliated and kicked him in the shin to make him release his head.

"And you're an idjit," was the pithy reply as the blond attempted—without success—to straighten his mushed spikes as he walked.

"We're here," Zack suddenly said, glancing around at the lush little lot filled with small flowers and that old twisted tree with bright green leaves on top. "Huh, looks like he ain't here," he observed.

"I dunno…I thought for sure he'd be back…" Cloud sighed as he looked around, his mind focused on finding his other best friend. A faint sound caught his attention and he saw the barest hint of movement in the corner of his eye. The blonde halted the brunette's mutterings about vanishing brats before pointing in the direction the movement had come from.

"You think he's over there, Cloudy," Zack whispered, blinking solemn blue eyes at his friend.

"C'mon," the younger boy urged, creeping forward, his own baby blues bright with anticipation. He knew they were close; he was sure of it!

Both boys made their way over to the area of interest, one with eagerness, and the other with nervousness. Though there was absolutely nothin' to be a scaredy cat about, Zack thought to himself. Nope, nuh-uh, not a thing to—

"What do you want?" Squall's voice came from nowhere, startling Zack into an odd little half-step, half-jump. Cloud muffled his laughter before turning around to face Squall with a hurt pout on his face.

"There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you! If you'd stayed away any longer we woulda started thinkin**'** you didn't wanna be friends with us anymore."

Squall stared at Cloud with unsure gray eyes before slowly shifting his gaze to look at Zack, who was shuffling and kicking in place with his head lowered.

Feeling the heavy weight of that stare upon him, the oldest boy looked up and nearly flushed with shame at being caught about to make an excuse and leave. Well, he wasn't gunna be a _baby_ about it! Now that he had the younger boy's attention, he might as well make the best of it and plead his case. It couldn't be much harder than convincing Ma to let him go somewhere, right?

So Zack turned to Squall and unleashed the full effect of what his Uncle Angeal called "The Puppy Eyes." He widened his eyes and stuck out his bottom lip before letting it quiver a little. The trick was to make sure that he was thinking of the saddest thing he could remember; the best incident was when Cuckoo had died—_oh man_, he had loved that bird—and bringing it to the front of his mind and letting it make his eyes all shiny. But not to the point of crying! Crying was for sissies and Zack wasn't no girly boy without an ounce of a fighting bone in his body…no offense to Cloud, but honestly! He was so small and he didn't have to resort to extremes to get what he wanted, unlike Zack.

Squall resisted the urge to laugh at the look on his friend's face, but a telling twitch of his lips set Zack off without him needing any further encouragement.

"Look, Squall, I'm really, really, really, really, really, really sorry for fighting with ya the other day, but you were actin' weird and you knocked Cloud over and I just didn't wanna see you hurt 'im and I hope you forgive me n stuff, cuz it'd really suck if I apologized and you still didn't wanna be my friend anymore and I'd be sad, but Cloud would be even sadder cuz then no one would keep me from teasing him and making him look like a baby—"

"Hey!"

"Shush, I'm on a roll here blondy—but um, yeah Squall, I really really hope you can forgive and…wait, did I say that already? Anyway, just um….dang, I forgot what I was gonna say, but I swear it was gonna be good, Squall—"

"Zack," Squall sighed, unceremoniously clamping his hand over the rambling brunette's mouth. "You didn't gimme a chance to speak you dork."

Cloud giggled behind his hand and watched with thinly veiled amusement as he tried to lick the other boy's palm to free his mouth, but earned himself a disgusted look and a sour mouth for his efforts.

"You gunna listen?" Squall asked pointedly when Zack whined behind his hand.

At the muffled positive he received, he pulled his hand away and wiped the dampness on his pants without a glance.

Zack on the other hand, scrunched his face up in disgust and hawked long and loud—much to Cloud's dismayed disgust—and spat on the ground.

"Jeez, Squall, what've you been touchin' out here? That was _gross_," he muttered, unleashing another spitball upon a pile of unsuspecting dandelions.

"Oh, sorry," Squall said in genuine apology, blinking as Cloud gave him a mile-wide grin. "Listen…"

"Nope," Cloud said, interrupting him as he rocked back on his heels. "I know what you're gunna say, and I don't wanna hear it."

"But—"

"You don't have to apologize, Squall," Cloud sighed, walking over to the younger boy. To his surprise, Cloud suddenly threw his arms around him and hugged him with a fierce squeeze before pulling away. His face was dull red, but he had a small smile on his face. "There now, apology accepted. Mom says a hug makes everyone feel better."

Zack snorted in amusement. "Cloud you're such a—"

"Say one more word, Zackary Fair," Cloud said in a deadly accurate impression of Mary Fair's "Bad Zack" tone, "and I'll tell Mama exactly who dropped her freshly baked pie off the window sill cuz he was sniffing 'round it when he wasn't supposed to be."

"Shoot," the oldest boy grumbled, sheepishly rubbing his head. "You didn't have to go all Mama Chocobo on me, sheesh."

The light sound of laughter caught both of their attention, and they turned to regard Squall, who was leaned against the big ugly tree, clutching his chest like his heart was going to explode with laughter.

"Y-you guys," Squall gasped, slowly sliding down into a sitting position, "you guys are so…_you_…"

Zack watched in confusion as the tears of laughter suddenly turned into hiccupping sobs as the younger boy suddenly began clutching his knees. Cloud looked pointedly at Zack and jerked his head impatiently towards their sobbing friend.

Well, looks like he'd been picked again.

Sighing, the spiky-haired brunette went on his knees beside the younger boy and bent his body so that his face appeared in Squall's line of sight.

"Hey now…you okay, Squall?" He asked unnecessarily, awkwardly patting the younger boy's back.

"I-I'm-I-I'll be fine," he hiccupped after a moment of allowing Zack's jerky hand movements to calm him. "I'm j-just trying to…forget."

"Forget? You're trying to forget your sister, Squall?" Zack frowned, his hand pausing on his friend's back. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?" Squall challenged, raising defiant gray eyes to his own sky blues, "why do I need to remember that she left me behind?"

Zack blinked in bemusement, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Squall. "Is _that _what you think happened, you idiot?"

"I think I'd know—"

"No," Zack said firmly, easily cutting off his angry tirade, "you've got it all wrong! Didja really think your sis would just up and go anywhere without ya? _No_. She didn't know she was gunna be leavin' so soon, you dork! Besides, why would she take you away with her when me, Cloud, and your Dad still need ya? That'd just be selfish," he said, with righteous indignation.

Zack paused when he noticed the twin stares of amazement being sent his way from both his best friends. "Whaaaat?" he asked defensively. "Can't I be at least a lil smart? Jeez, I _am_ going to the fifth grade after all."

Cloud shook his head, but continued smiling as he turned to Squall. "He's right, you know. What would we do without you? Besides," he started, smirking at the black-haired boy, "if I didn't have you then I'd have to deal with _that_ idiot all day."

_A Home is where you feel safe.  
_

Squall sighed, suddenly leaning against Zack's side. The older boy stopped his grumbling and blinked, but bore the sudden weight, looking at Squall in question.

"_He became both guardian and protector so that they would always be one."_

_Be strong. Do your best…_

_**I will! Like a lion! Leon the Lion. No one'll get past me to hurt Dad!**_

"What…how was my Dad doin' guys?"

"Huh?" Zack asked, staring down at the top of the younger boy's head. "Uh…well, he was actin' kinda weird, like…he didn't know where he was or somethin'."

When he got quiet, Cloud sat down on Squall's free side and they all looked up at the sky, their minds working at understanding things that they felt were a lot bigger and more serious than anything had a right to be.

_Leon the Lion, huh? I wonder where my baby brother ran off to then?_

"Guys?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Can you do me a favor?" Squall asked, his eyes intent on the indistinct shapes in the sky. Oddly enough, one of the clouds looked like a familiar-shaped smile, and if it was, then he knew that what he had to say needed to be said.

"From now on…I want you guys to call me Leon."

* * *

When a young boy left out of his home earlier that morning, he had been the scared, confused, and bitter Squall Leonhart.

The solemn-faced little boy who came back simply introduced himself as Leon.

* * *

Quiet: Yeah, I sorta brokeded my brain on this chapter, because every time I planned on ending it and sending it off to my beta, another part would pop up and I'd go into another thousand words until I forcibly stopped myself. ...You guys better be lucky I love yall and this pairing. But omg...AAAANNNNGST! D:

I can't believe I actually wrote _angst_! Well...mild angst; I_ am_ a humor writer after all. ;D

* * *


	3. Interlude I: Zack, Summer of Growth

Quiet: Thank my crappy network admin for finally getting things in enough order for me to send this off to my beta and update. :/

* * *

Interlude: Zack (Summer of Growth)

"Zackary," his father called from somewhere downstairs.

"Be down in a sec!" The thirteen year old shouted without budging an inch from in front of his game. He couldn't pause it just yet, there was still a lot more of the fight left and if he paused, he wouldn't be able to finish Fenrir's Super Millennium Moon Attack Combo if he stopped—

"Get down here, boy!"

Startled, Zack jerked at his father's impatient bellow and dropped his Gamestation Mini on his face from its upraised position directly above and interrupted his attack sequence. He cursed under his breath, before scooping the game system up from near his head and pushing himself off the bed.

"I'm comin, Dad!"

He nearly fell down the stairs in his haste to get to the old man before skidding to a stop in the living room. To his surprise, his mother's usually tidy living room was marred by the cluttered table, where his father was sitting with a bunch of magazines and odd looking bottles and boxes scattered all over the place.

"Uh, Dad," Zack started, seeing the unusually stern look on the old man's face. "You know Mom's gonna kill you for messing up her house while she's on this book club trip, right? If she asks, I'm not admitting to anything—"

"Shut up, Zack," his dad sighed, rolling his eyes at his son's babbling. "You talk too damn much sometimes. Just…siddown and lemme show ya what your mom made me talk to ya about."

Curiosity piqued, Zack sat at the table and eyed the junk littering the normally clean surface. His dad was clearing his throat and tugging on his necktie as if the thing were strangling him. What was wrong with the old man? He wasn't normally this fidgety and yelled at Zack whenever _he_ did stuff like that.

"So, son…uh, how much do ya know about girls?"

Instantly, Zack's face went from mild curiosity to acute disgust. He would never actually tell his father what he really thought of girls, but it wasn't like he couldn't make his opinion somewhat known.

Instead of voicing anything negative though, he settled for a cautious, "Stuff…"

"Uh, good, that's um…" His dad did that uncomfortable choking-on-his-necktie thing again before ducking his head so that his wild black hair covered his face. He muttered something to himself and Zack managed to catch the words "shit" and "harder than I thought" before the old man raised his head and looked at him again.

"Whaddya know about sex, son?" he asked bluntly.

"_Daaaaad_!" Zack wailed, absolutely mortified.

"Shit, don't look at me! This was your Mother's idea! I just got drafted," he muttered miserably, as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "She wants to make sure you don't go and get some chick pregnant since you're still a kid or go around kissing 'em and all that good shit."

"Dad," Zack started, his face scrunched distastefully, "I'm _thirteen_, and girls are made of _ew_. _They_ try to kiss _us_! You know Aeris from down the street? I swear she went nuts last week and tried to hold my hand once in gym class. Blegh! What the hell is _wrong_ with girls?!"

"Watch your damn mouth, kid," his father muttered, opening one of the boxes and pulling out a small, foil-wrapped package.

Zack watched curiously as his Dad eyed the small object from every angle as if confused, muttering to himself the whole time. "Shit…been a long time since…dammit, Mary…gonna have to show him…"

Jeez, had the old man just called him down here to gripe about girls? Ugh. He could be upstairs making the record of the century by now.

He jerked in surprise when his father suddenly shoved the thing into his face. He blinked at it for a second, then tilted his head in mild curiosity before gingerly gripping the foil packet and reading out loud, "SOL-JER, the best protection out there, for his and her satisfaction." His…and…her.

_Her._

He froze in mortification, his eyes widening in dismay as he looked from the popular condom brand's label to his father's reddened face. "Daaaaaad! I don't _need_ this! I'm not doing, doing…that! We are not talking about sex! They gross us out about it enough in school!"

A faint look of relief crossed Mr. Fair's face before he averted his eyes and said gruffly, "Well, do you at least know how to jerk off yet? I've got some skin mags and lube here, because I know you're having wet dreams—your mother saw the sheet you ruined crammed under the bed and told me she that now was the best time to—"

The thirteen year old interrupted him with a full-throated sound of half frustration and half horror. "AUUUGHHHH! _DAD_! That's freakin' _embarrassing_! Cripes, can't a guy get any privacy around here?!!?"

"Hey, ya little snot!" his father snarled back, glaring daggers at him, "I'm not exactly yippy-skippy-happy-do about this either!"

"Then don't talk about it!" he shot back simply. "Just tell mom you said something to me and you'll be fine! You don't get the couch, and I don't get 'The Talk.' It's a win-win situation, old man! Shiva," the boy muttered bitterly, "_girls_ of all things!"

Rather than retaliate with a threat or even more yelling, Mr. Fair paused and eyed his son with sudden suspicion. "…you're not gay, are you? I mean, it's totally cool...just, don't come asking me about how to pop someone's ass cher—"

"_DAAAAAAAD_!" his son wailed again, his face beet red.

"Fuck it," the man said, abruptly standing from the table. "I knew this would be a damn bust. Besides, you're old enough that they tell you about this shit in school for fuck's sake. Your Uncle Angeal's coming down in a few months, so ask him about the birds and the bees, or the bees and the wasps or what-the-fuck-ever when he gets here. I'm done," Zack's dad declared miserably.

"Mary can kiss my ass, because after this, I might make _her_ sleep on the goddamned couch," he muttered as he stalked off.

Fifteen minutes later, Cloud Strife sleepily raised his head at the all-too-familiar sound of tapping against his window. Carefully tiptoeing his way across the room, the blond smoothly slid the window open, not in the least bit surprised to see Zack slide into the room shoulders first.

He yawned and stared at his black-haired friend with unabashed curiosity. "What're you over here so late for?"

Zack shrugged and scratched his head, a faint grimace on his young face as he opened his mouth, then abruptly snapped it closed again.

"You didn't miss me that much did you?" Cloud asked, "or is it your Mommy you miss?" he teased.

"N-no!" the older boy vehemently protested. It's just…GreatIfrit'sballsCloudDadtriedtogivemetheTalk," he said in a rush.

"Wha..? Say that again, I didn't quite catch it," Cloud murmured as he tilted his head in an odd, birdlike manner.

"I said," He started with a faint hint of annoyance, "'Great Ifrit's balls, Cloud, Dad tried to give me the Talk.'"

"Zackary Fair, you just made my night," Cloud declared, then promptly burst into giggles at his poor friend. The wounded pout on his friend's face only made him gasp for air and laugh harder, until tears leaked from the corners of his eyes and he sank back down onto the bed while he stopped to catch his breath.

"Some friend you are," Zack groused.

"Oh, I'm a wonderful friend," Cloud managed to get out between his giggling. "But knowing your Dad and knowing you, I can imagine that being a _hilarious_ conversation!"

Zack snorted as he flopped onto the bed belly-first. Now that he thought about it, it was a bit funny. But…

"We are _so _not telling Squall!"

Cloud's smirk was not reassuring in the least.

* * *

Quiet: I think two or three more chapters of youth (not including interludes), then we can move on into the adult stuffz. :3


	4. Summer of Blooming

Quiet: You are all going to hate me so much for the next few chapters. Growing up is hard, dammit.

* * *

"C'mon, Cloudy! You haveta _catch_ the ball if you wanna win," Zack called in exasperated amusement. "It's bad enough you tackle like a girl, but you can't catch either!"

"_Zaaaaaack!!"_

"Stop bothering him, Zack," Leon grunted at him in response to Cloud's whine as he calmly turned the page in his book.

Zack snorted at Leon before folding his arms and turning back to Cloud, who was pointedly ignoring him at the moment.

"Awww, c'mon Spiky!" Zack gushed as he caught the younger boy in an affectionate headlock. Don't be that way!" He avoided calling his smaller friend a girl not because he was nice, but because he knew that the blond would never stop sulking and Zack would haveta beat some sense into the midget, or else Squall would beat _him_ for ruffling Cloud's feathers. Heh, feathers; his hair _was_ awfully soft like feathers…

"Ow! Quit it! Zaaaaack! Stop bein' a pain in the—Leon! Get 'im offa me!"

"Yeah, Squall, come save Cloudy before he _cries_!" Zack laughed, allowing himself to be tumbled by the smaller boy, who squawked indignantly at his words.

The quiet brunette ignored the blond's furious yowling and Zack's exuberant war whoops as he rolled his eyes behind his book. Even though he was the youngest at thirteen (almost fourteen, really), Leon swore that he might as well be the oldest with what little maturity the other two had.

Then he suddenly realized what Zack had called him.

"It's _Leon, _idiot."

"Hey!"

"Boys," Mama Strife's voice called, "Dinner's ready! You need to run along and wash up now."

"Yes, ma'am," the three friends chorused in unison. Since that fateful day in the park eight years ago, the three boys had grown close and begun hanging with each other so often, it was a common sight to see the other two trailing either eagerly (sometimes Cloud) or reluctantly (almost always Leon) after the other (usually Zack). Whether it be for boisterous "adventuring" in the woods near the town's castle or animated tree-climbing contests down the street, all three boys were nearly inseparable.

Not that they didn't get out and play with the other kids on the block—Zack made sure they did—but their best moments were always spent together because Cloud's ever-present shyness couldn't make many friends for him, and Squall just didn't bother to try. In his eyes, Zack and Cloud were the only ones he needed.

Sighing, Leon marked the page in his book and obediently rose to his feet before casually striding over to the wrestling duo and yanking Zack up by his collar. By force of habit, he avoided stocky, flailing arms and studiously ignored the older boy's whining protests.

"Ha!" Cloud crowed in triumph as he scrambled up off the ground and took off towards the house screaming, "Last one there's gotta kiss Larxene!"

Even Leon failed to suppress his wince at that, so it was only right that he allowed Zack to jerk free and take off after Cloud screaming, "Cheater! No way that's ever gonna happen! She's got cockroach antenna!"

Stifling a laugh, Leon picked up his books and strolled his way towards the hastily abandoned football, before tucking that under his arm as well and heading towards the Strife household.

"You're not as lively as the other two, are ya?" A feminine voice chirped in amusement.

Startled, Leon nearly dropped the ball, blinking as he saw the slight frame of a petite girl perched on top of the fence. Her face was animated with laughter, her dark brown eyes practically dancing as her blue shirt fluttered in the light summer breeze. "I'm Rinoa."

Leon was speechless.

The girl tilted her head in amused friendliness as she rocked on the thin bar of the metal fence. "Well? Aren't you gonna tell me _your _name?"

The brunette boy blinked, a fresh flush stealing over his face as he snuck a glance at the sliding glass door his two best friends had disappeared into. It wouldn't do for them to see him talking to a _girl_. He'd never hear the end of it then. He stared at her for a moment as he glanced at the house behind her. "…I've never seen you around before."

"Well of course you haven't, silly! My cousin and I just moved over there"—she vaguely pointed over her shoulder—" today," she explained with a grin. Her legs kicked the fence in a steady rhythm as she glanced over her shoulder into the yard a few houses down. "My cousin would've come over to introduce herself, because she got shy when she saw the blonde kid," she said, leaning forward as if they were conspirators; Leon was just a bit surprised to find himself wanting to lean closer to her in return.

"Leon," he said abruptly, shifting uncomfortably in place when her smile turned light and understanding.

"Your name, huh? You know Leon means "lion" where I come from," she murmured, thoughtfully tapping her chin. She didn't seem to notice the way the boy had stiffened and stared at her in suspicion, until the sudden silence brought her from her thoughts; she stared at his darkened face in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I have to go," he said, stiffly turning to head back to Cloud's house. Her protests fell on deaf ears as he yanked opened the sliding glass door, his mind jumbled and mixed with thoughts of younger days and a gray-eyed girl—

"_Leon the Lion, huh? I wonder where my baby brother ran off to then,"_ a gentle voice teased from his almost-faded memories.

"_Squall…don't ever change."_

"Yo!"

Squall started, his eyes blinking rapidly as he caught sight of a tanned hand and laughing blue eyes as Zack finally succeeded in his attempt at grabbing his younger friend's attention.

"You were really out of it! What's wrong?" The other boy asked with mild concern.

"It's nothing," Squall muttered, making to walk around his spiky-haired friend. Unsurprisingly, his path was blocked by the older brunet, who stepped into his path and scoffed at his thinly hidden unease.

"C'mon Squall, what's really up? You know if you don't tell _me_ what's goin' on, then Cloud'll take one look atcha and think the world's gonna end. He's a worrywart," he said affectionately, "but you know that in everything we do, he's always the first to check for bug bites and other little stuff. He's like…the _girl_," Zack muttered in half-resignation, half-disgust.

Leon smiled at his friend, his gray eyes bright in amusement. "What's wrong, Zack? I thought you'd be all for girls since you're starting high school in the fall."

"Yeah, well, they're still annoying and clingy and _yuck_," came the automatic response. Leon knew better, though. Despite Zack's words and teasing, he could often be seen showing off for Aerith and her friend Cissnei whenever they happened to walk by on their way to the dance studio.

Leon's soft snort preceded his entrance into the kitchen, where Cloud looked up from rolling peas around on his plate to give them both a bright grin. "What took you guys so long? Mom already set the stuff up before heading upstairs to get changed for work."

"Nothin much," Leon grunted, dutifully making his way to the sink to wash his hands.

"Oh, okay," Cloud conceded, even though he seemed a bit skeptical. "So, what're we gonna watch tonight?"

"Cannibal Hector,' Zack demanded without missing a beat.

"Zaaaaaack!" Cloud glared at him, but his pixie-like features were hardly threatening.

"You know we can't watch stuff like that, Zack," Leon muttered, settling down to eat his pork chops.

"Yeah, Cloud might shit himself," the older boy mockingly grumbled.

"Zack," Cloud furiously whispered, peering carefully towards the doorway as if his mother would suddenly pop out bearing a bar of soap to reprimand him for the curse.

"S'cool, Cloud, she can't hear me," Zack reassured with a faint grin.

Cloud made a small sound of disagreement around a forkful of peas—yuck, Zack wouldn't touch those things for the world—and swallowed before managing, "Pffft, yeah right! You're always the one that gets caught!"

"Do not!"

"Spicy Pete says otherwise," he crooned.

Zack winced. "Low blow man, low blow."

Leon nearly choked on his chocobo wing. On one particular day, when all three families had gotten together for a picnic, Mr. Fair had warned his son repeatedly about cursing around adults and to watch his mouth; of course, Zack being Zack, he had ignored his father's warnings and ran his mouth in the company of his two friends. He hadn't even gotten a warning before his dad had wrapped an arm around his waist and shoved a bottle of Spicy Pete's hot sauce in his mouth and growled, "Think you're hot shit, eh kid? Well, you'll definitely be after this!"

Cloud smirked at the memory before fixing his stern gaze on the older teen. "Now what were you saying about a movie now…?"

"Fine," Zack huffed. "We'll watch something else then!"

Smug in his victory, Cloud sauntered over to the pile of videos and dug through the stacks while Zack sprawled over his favorite beanbag chair; the normal Friday night tradition.

Leon quietly settled into his favorite lazy boy and watched his two friends bicker and debate over what they wanted to see; his mind wandered back to the day's earlier events. Something about that girl had…unnerved him.

She'd been nice enough. She didn't seem like the type to play the usual girl games of kiss and run or whatever silly stuff they thought of. But what she'd said…

It sounded like something Sis would've said to him.

"Goodnight boys! Don't forget to check the locks before you go to bed! I'll be back around eight in the morning, so no wild parties while I'm gone," Mrs. Strife joked as she made her way to the front door, juggling her purse and keys in one hand and waving with the other.

"Yes, ma'am," all three boys chorused.

With a quick glance at Zack, Cloud hurried to open the door for his mother, ducking his head at the affectionate smile she gave before she stooped and lightly tilted her cheek. Cloud blushed and flicked his eyes to the ceiling in false exasperation before leaning up and pecking her on the cheek and patiently taking the kiss she gave in return.

Leon pointedly ignored the gesture seeing as how it wasn't any of his business, while Zack choked on his soda after making mild gagging noises. Under the guise of helping him, Leon pounded on his friend's back more than was strictly necessary as Cloud closed the door behind his mother and locked it.

Three. Two. One—

"Y-You're such a—"

"Shut _up_, Zack," was Cloud's furious reply as the blond practically launched himself across the room to dive at the older boy. Leon barely managed to avoid a bony elbow in his chest as the two tussled together on the couch—just like every time Zack teased poor Cloud. He scooted back when Zack pinned Cloud under his body and rolled his eyes because he knew _that _wouldn't go over well.

"_GET OFF ME YOU LUNKHEAD_!"

The oldest boy winced at the volume and grunted in faint effort as the pinned blond began flailing in earnest beneath him, his small body wriggling like a fish on a hook.

Finally, Zack had enough and just collapsed on Cloud, and being that he was almost twice his friend's height and weight, he knocked the wind out of him, causing his squirms to weaken and finally still. "Jeez, Cloud, chill I was just kiddin'! You're such a girl!"

An odd look passed over Zack's face moments after his disdainful declaration and he hurriedly scrambled off Cloud before rolling off the loveseat and flopping facedown onto his beanbag. "Sheesh, you'd think a guy was tryin' to murder ya with the way you're actin'."

The younger brunet boy glanced at Zack curiously before shrugging and turning on the movie.

Cloud caught the look as well and blinked in surprise at Zack, who was suddenly intensely absorbed in the movie as if his life depended on it.

He shrugged. Whatever it was, he'd find out. They never kept secrets from each other.

Right?

* * *

Early morning saw the boys lying in haphazard positions on Cloud's bed as the sun glared through the window, seemingly ineffective in rousing the teens from their slumber.

A knock shattered the silence. In response, a sleepy grumble came from the bottom of the tangle of limbs as untamed black spikes further buried themselves into the shared pillow. The youngest gave a sleepy grunt at the sound, his face pinching into an annoyed frown while on his left, bleary blue eyes opened and a jaw-cracking yawn emerged from the blond half-curled between them.

The knocks continued.

Cloud crawled his way free, ignoring the whined protests and growling his movements caused as he stumbled his way down the stairs in his boxers trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. A quick glance at the clock revealed it to be a little after 8:30 am; maybe his mother needed help bringing in some groceries or something, he thought, swinging open the door.

A pretty brown-haired girl with light brown eyes stood there, her mouth forming a little 'o' of surprise she took in his undressed and disheveled appearance.

Cloud felt a fiery blush start from the roots of his hair and travel downward as he stammered in shock and gaped at her before abruptly slamming the door on her, his heart hammering in his chest. Zack curiously peered over the ledge of the stairwell at him after his trip to the restroom, sleepily scratching his chest as he asked, "Who the heck was it, Cloudy?"

"A-a-a girl," his friend whispered, mortified not only that he'd answered the door in such a state, but that she'd been _pretty_ too.

And he'd closed the door in her face.

"Smooooth," Zack singsonged after rolling his eyes. He trotted down the stairs and peeked through the peephole. "She's cute, too!"

Surprised, Cloud shoved his friend to the side, ignoring his yelp and checked for himself—yup, there she was. Why hadn't she left already?

"C'mon Cloud, don't be rude to a chick! Just tell her you'll be back with some clothes or something…"

"Are you nuts?!" he hissed, watching the girl shift patiently, as if waiting for him to come back to the door.

"What're you two doing?" Leon's sleepy voice called from upstairs. "Is your mom back yet, Cloud? I wanna know how much to cook for breakfast," he called.

A small scuffle broke out as Zack tried to pry Cloud's small form away from the door; Cloud was stubbornly trying to keep Zack from opening the door again, but the older boy was just as determined to open it again. He was the slightest bit taller, but he was more filled out than Cloud, and he easily grabbed his friend and began to tug him off the door.

Desperate, Cloud did the only thing he could do in this situation—he bit Zack on the arm and ignored the other boy's shocked howl in favor of tipping them both onto the floor. Seconds later, the rapid thump of footsteps on the stairs heralded Leon's arrival.

"Cloud, what the hell?!" Zack yelped, just as the doorknob jiggled. All three boys froze, and Cloud's mother opened the door, her brows raising at Zack's thunderous expression, and her son's reddened face.

"I'm not going to ask," she began, making her way towards the stairs, "why a young lady was leaving my door at this time of morning and two of you are indecent at said door. Leon, sweetie, are those eggs and bacon I smell cooking?"

* * *

"Jeez, Cloud, she was cute—"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"I still don't get why you couldn't just—"

"I said, _I don't wanna talk about it_," the blond stressed, lobbing the football harder than was strictly necessary at his friend's stomach. Zack let out a soft 'oof' as all the air rushed from his lungs, and he glared, tempted to return the favor—to Cloud's stubborn head.

"Leon!" a distinctly girlish voice called, and like bloodhounds on the scent, both Zack and Cloud sharply rose their heads to find the source. What was a girl doing looking for stoic Leon, and such a _friendly_ one at that?

She stopped uncertainly in the yard as the three boys looked at her, two with open curiosity, and one with wary question. After a moment, she seemed to bolster her courage and smiled at the other two boys. "Hi, I'm Rinoa! I didn't get a chance to meet you yet, but I've just moved next door."

With a look that said he was going to tease the hell out of him later, Zack glanced at Leon before idly tossing the ball in place. "The name's Zack. And this here's Cloud; be careful, he bites."

The furious hiss made him grin, and the girl found herself giggling at the way the blond boy puffed up; he almost looked like an offended baby chocobo! "I think my cousin Tifa came by to introduce herself earlier, but you guys must have been busy at the time."

"Your cousin," Zack asked, perking in interest. When it came to girls, Zack could play cool all he liked, but the mere mention of a female to impress usually caught his attention. "Oh, I remember! The chick Cloudy shut the door on!"

"Zack!" Cloud howled, flushing in complete mortification.

He was _never _going to live this down!

* * *

Quiet: Update, hoo-hah!


	5. Summer of Dread

A/N: So...yeah. I finally updated! Who else is as excited as I am?! :D

(Oh god don't kill me please, I know it's been like two years, but it's not dead. D: )

Unbeta'd. Forgive my mistakes.

...

* * *

"Hey, chicken wuss."

Leon ignored Seifer, his eyes firmly shut as he calmly rested in the shade of a large elm tree. The blond was an annoyance at best; a petty little boy who fancied himself a rival for Rinoa's attentions against the stoic younger boy. It wasn't Leon's fault that the girl was utterly fascinated with the quiet Squall Leonhart, but Seifer had taken it as a personal offense that the girl of his dreams wasn't interested in him because of Leon's very existence.

"I'm talking to you wussy," came the expected response to the silent treatment Leon was famous for. The strained tone in Seifer's voice was evident, and all the warning he needed. Leon opened his eyes to little half-slits of frosty blue and glared at the advancing teen, even as he tensed in anticipation of the brawl to come.

"Seifer, aren't you supposed to be sick today," came a sharp, blatantly unfriendly voice from somewhere behind them. Leon didn't bother looking; he knew that voice as well as his own after so long, and although it was rare for such serious hostility to be injected into it, he knew that it was just as sincere as always.

The blond paused in wary guilt. He'd been skipping out on football practice and hadn't expected to be called out on it. He sneered at Squall. "Figures when I get you alone your boy toy Fair comes in to rescue the little damsel-"

"Tch! You think I need to save him? You're more likely to get your ass kicked," one of his best friends said in amusement as he finally made his way behind Leon. "But seriously, keep that shit to yourself. No one gives a fuck about your petty little grudges, Almasy."

Leon let a small, sharp smile cross his face as his rival's eyes met his own with cold fury. He knew the blond wanted to start something-he usually did whenever he approached the dark haired boy-but he wouldn't dare when Zack, the captain of the football team, could make or break him by ratting him out to the coach. Hell if he wanted to, Zack himself could kick Seifer's ass or send him on a million laps as punishment, but the boy was rather fond of giving people a second chance to redeem themselves.

"Whatever," the blond muttered before violently shoving his hands into his trench coat and stalking off in the opposite direction.

They both watched him go in silence for a moment before dancing bright blue eyes met stormy grey; Zack gave a decidedly feral grin as he asked, "So just how close was he to losing some teeth?"

Wordlessly, Leon revealed the clenched fists he'd had concealed in his own jacket pocket; the instant the other boy had moved towards him, he'd been prepared to defend himself, after all.

Zack grinned. "Shoulda known you'd be ready to smack him good. Hey, think you can stop over by my place tonight? I'm askin' Cloud to come over too. Got somethin' important to tell ya."

Leon nodded and sighed before casually rising to his knees. They'd grown up practically living in each others' houses, so he knew where to go; just as Cloud and Zack knew their way to his.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, silently wondering why Zack didn't just get it over with now.

Catching the look, Zack tsked and grinned at him. "Nuh-uh, I need both you _and_ Cloud there, this is _huge _ news, man!"

"Alright," the sable haired boy grunted and shooed the older boy away.

...

* * *

"What's this about Zack?" Cloud asked curiously once the three of them had met at said boy's house. The ebony haired boy had been tortuously quiet and secretive with them all day-a rare and suspicious action given his usual boisterous, in-your-face nature.

The older boy grinned, his eyes twinkling with mirth as he reached under his bed to pull out a large brown bag. The subtle clinking of glass gave Cloud his suspicions, but the shit eating grin on Zack's face prompted their youngest friend to ask incredulously, "Is that _alcohol_?

"What are you, my mother?" Zack asked derisively. The narrow eyed looks of displeasure on his two best friends' faces made him snort. The reproving tone in Leon's voice hadn't been unexpected, so he merely ignored the brown haired teen in favor of pulling out various bottles of alcoholic substances.

"Your mom and dad are gonna freak," Cloud proclaimed nervously, staring with wide eyes as his best friend pulled out what seemed like the equivalent of a gallon of liquor from his bag.

"They wont freak since they won't be here," Zack denied cheekily. "And you guys won't tell, right?

Cloud scowled. "You honestly expect me to lie to your parents about drinking in their house? My mom would kill me, you moron! Besides, where'd you even get this stuff? Do you have a fake ID somewhere!?"

The oldest boy gave a world weary sigh and carefully sat down three shot glasses. Leon was giving him a disbelieving look and that was all he needed to know to realize that he agreed with the blond boy's nagging.

"Look," Zack said, his face serious as he uncapped a coke bottle and then another bottle that had some noxious smelling fumes coming from it. "Reno can get anything since he has some older buddies that don't mind ferrying him a few things. Is that cool with you mom and dad?" he mocked, casually beginning to mix the drinks together.

Leon shrugged. He didn't really care either way. Zack was a big boy now, he got himself into and out of his own messes either way.

"You look like you've done this before," Cloud said suspiciously as he curiously eyed the dexterous manner that Zack shook and tossed the alcoholic beverages.

"Maybe," the ebony haired boy said with a smirk.

Carefully, he set three shot glasses on the bed table and poured some dark, caustic looking liquid into one shot glass, something reddish and orangeish in another, and something pale blue in the last.

"Now,' he said, taking the blue liquid and handing it to Leon, who stared down at it and gave it a slow blink. The pink-orange one that he gave to Cloud was treated with a disdainful glance and a wary sniff. Surprisingly enough, it smelled rather fruity, and sweet, something Cloud was always appreciative of. The dark liquid was kept by Zack's side, thankfully.

"I've got big news boys, so drink up," Zack said cheerfully, in lieu of a toast. He tossed back the entire contents of his shot glass in one swallow before smacking his lips and sighing loudly in obvious enjoyment.

"What news?" Cloud asked, giving his drink a dainty sip. He blinked at the burst of flavor and took another, much more exploratory gulp of the drink and was pleased enough to ignore exactly what that warm feeling in his chest might be.

"You keep beating around the bush," Leon said quietly. "Just tell us already."

Zack scowled at his best friends. "Jeez, you guys have no sense of anticipation, what kill joys!" He muttered something under his breath that sounded like, "How did I ever get to be friends with _these_ guys?" but both boys decided to ignore it.

The baleful stare Cloud continued to give him made him throw his hands up in exasperation. "Ok, ok! So you guys know how my uncle Angeal is in the military right?"

Both boys nodded.

"Well, get this. He told me that there's a training camp this fall that i can do and once I'm done, I can go straight into the corps and he'll get me sent to Agrabah with him! Isn't that awesome!?" he beamed at them, eagerly awaiting a reaction.

The stunned looks on both his friends' faces made his own forehead crease in concern. Cloud was staring at him in wide-eyed horror and Leon was watching him with narrowed eyes.

"So after the summer is over..." the Leonhart boy began.

The black haired boy grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I wont be able to stay here, I gotta go to training camp."

"What about school!" Cloud's voice came, unnaturally sharp and high. "What about prom? What are you going to tell those girls? What about _us _doing stuff and finding summer jobs or hanging out together?"

Zack started at his blond friend's angry tone. He had expected a bit of disappointment from his little buddy but not this...panicky resentment. "Whoa, don't worry, Cloudy! I'll still get credit for being in school and graduate and stuff! No harm done, right?" he said warily, offering his smaller friend an apologetic smile.

The blond sixteen year old pinched his lips together before his hard blue eyes began to glisten with unshed tears.

Leon looked on in concern while Zack flailed in dismay; the sight of Cloud in tears had always thrown him.

"Don't be sad, Cloudy! This is a good thing! I'll still write you guys and come down to visit every now and then and.._.just stop crying for pete's sake_!" the ebony haired boy groaned in frustration. He made a movement to hug his little blond buddy when a small hand was shoved into his chest. Surprised he looked down at his friend's blond locks, wondering just what was going through his mind right now.

"Promise?" Cloud whispered, head bowed so that his face was hidden, but Zack could see the faintest glimmer of wetness staining the blond's shirt.

"Promise," he echoed, lightly reaching out with his thumb and index finger to raise Cloud's head from his chest.

Cloud always had been a pretty crier, he thought fondly. The guy was more girl than boy in most cases of the heart, so it was no surprise that he was so shaken with Zack's news. Had he really expected them to be completely thrilled about this? Abruptly, Zack felt like a heel for throwing this on his two friends without warning.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but I just feel like I gotta do this," he said, absently brushing tears off the sixteen year old's face. The tenderness in the gesture did not go unnoticed by Leon, who raised his eyebrows but said nothing about it. They both treated Cloud rather delicately since he was raised with his mother and was such a reasonable quiet figure in their lives. For some reason though, he felt an odd pang of jealousy as he watched Zack hug the other boy. He hadn't offered _Leon _any sort of comfort about his impending departure. Did he think he didn't care?

Or did only Cloud really matter to Zack?

"Squa-Leon," Zack said, looking up from his impromptu hug. Cloud leaned away and frowned at the youngest boy, and the brunette boy knew something must have been showing on his face for him to tilt his head at him so questioningly.

The lump that had been sitting in his chest since Zack's announcement thickened. "I'm happy for you," he forced out, knowing that some sort of response was expected from him.

For a moment, he thought that the oldest boy would see through him and say something to him, but the electric blue eyes merely stared at him searchingly for a few seconds before an ear to ear grin split his face in his trademark Zack-grin.

"C'mon guys, let's celebrate! I'm gonna get to travel and all that good shit! Stuff I've always wanted to do!" having said his piece, Zack refilled his glass before mockingly raising it to the air.

"Bottom's up!"

…

* * *

It was sometime in the morning, beyond midnight, yet a few hours before dawn that Cloud found himself hazily coming into consciousness with the faint impression of wrongness. He sat for a moment, bleary, alcohol blurred vision struggling to adjust as he stared at the pale face of Squall sprawled out on his favorite beanbag.

For a moment, both boys stared at each other, one in silent contemplation, and the other in sleepy curiosity.

Finally, Cloud had had enough of the impromptu staring contest.

"Squall, what are you doing up?" he murmured, uncaring that he was using the no-no name. He lazily leaned up and the covers he'd somehow managed to toss over himself slid down his bare chest with the faintest whisper.

Pale blue-gray eyes stared at him from the darkness, the loud sounds of Zack's uninhibited snoring covering their own silent breaths. For a moment, the older boy thought Squall was going to ignore his question, then the dark haired boy slowly shook his head.

"Are you...really okay with him doing this?"

Oh. So _that_ was what was bothering him. Cloud felt a pang in his chest at the reminder of Zack's news earlier that night.

"No...but I wont' try to stop him," he admitted softly, his hands tangling in the warm covers.

"_Why_?" Leon demanded, his eyes burning with angry disbelief. "You know that if you really wanted him to stay he'd listen to you! Do you _want_ him to go away?"

"_No_!" Cloud whispered vehemently. "That's...that's not it at all!"

"Then why...?"

"If you try to hinder people's dreams, they'll begin to resent you in the end. I don't want him to go away and I know we'll both miss him, but...I don't...I don't want Zack to hate me," Cloud admitted, nervously wringing his hands together.

"I see," Leon conceded, his anger deflating in the face of his understanding.

"Besides, we still have each other and we can see him whenever he visits," the older boy said softly and hopefully.

"Yeah..."

"And when he's ready to come home...we'll be here waiting to kick his ass for leaving us behind," he said firmly, a hint of mischief glinting in his sky blue eyes.

Leon smiled, silently agreeing with his friend.


End file.
